


Golden Boy

by whatabunchofbozos



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Pre-Series, and partly because of the narrator's feelings, it's not meant to be hate it's partly because they're younger., some characters are portrayed slightly negatively
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-07 22:02:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6826534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatabunchofbozos/pseuds/whatabunchofbozos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jace was the golden boy, and Alec was unimportant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Golden Boy

**Author's Note:**

> this was written with the books in mind but will make perfect sense if you've only seen the show

Jace was the golden boy, both in character and appearance. Golden skin. Golden hair. Golden eyes. Not to mention his charming, golden personality. 

Alec had plain, black hair that flopped uselessly over his eyes. His features were unremarkable. He wasn't particularly talented, and didn't have many friends.

Alec was Jace's _parabatai_. His second-in-command. His brother. This made Alec _somebody_.

But on his own?

Alec was unimportant.

 

“How have you three been getting along?” Maryse asked as she walked into the kitchen, where the boys were sitting around the table.

“Jace and I are great!” answered James Townsend, a Shadowhunter visiting the Institute who was close in age to Jace and Alec, from his place beside Jace. “It’s very refreshing to spar with Jace. It’s much more of a challenge than anything at the Toronto Institute.”

“Of course it’s more challenging,” said Jace. “Canadians can’t bring themselves to actually hurt each other. The politeness, it runs in the blood.”

James shoved Jace playfully in the shoulder as Alec hid a smirk behind his sandwich. “Don’t tell me you believe all that!”

“Of course not,” Jace replied, pushing James back. “You’re not polite at all.”

The two boys continued shoving each other, eventually crashing onto the floor. Alec knew better than to get worried about injuries-the number of _iratze_ runes Jace went through on a daily basis could hardly increase.

Maryse walked over to him. “What about you, Alec?” she asked. “How have you been getting along with James?”

Alec bit into his sandwich to stall. “Um,” he said as he swallowed, “I haven’t really sparred with him. Or…spoken to him. I don’t think he likes me very much.” He stared down at his plate, pushing his food around with an extended finger. Alec had really just been following James and Jace around for the past several days, just like he did every time someone visited the Institute. He wasn’t even sure James knew his name.

“You should try to get to know him some more,” Maryse said, disappointed. “Your father and I were hoping you could be friends with him. It would be good for you to make more friends your age." She frowned. "At least Jace doesn’t need to be told these things.”

“No, “Alec repeated, looking over to where James and Jace had been play-fighting. They had disappeared-most likely to the training room. “He doesn’t.”

 

“Where the hell have you two been?” Alec yelled, his hands shaking with rage. He had been alternating between pacing the worn floorboards and frantically calling Izzy and Jace’s cell phones for the past two hours, trying to get a hold of his younger siblings. His father always told him that he had to protect them. He had to fulfill his duty.

“Calm down, Alec,” drawled Izzy, walking lazily past him. “We just went to a party.”

Alec stared at his sister in disbelief. He didn't mention his shock at Izzy's casual mention of some party he'd had no idea about. “You expect me to believe that?” he retorted instead. “You’re both _covered_ in blood!”

A sharp laugh drew Alec’s attention to Jace once more. “She’s telling the truth, Alec. We went to a party…though we didn’t exactly make it there.” At Alec’s piercing glare, Jace elaborated. “We ran into a couple of Ravener demons, that’s all. None of it's our blood."

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because we knew we could handle it by ourselves, Alec,” Izzy said as she walked towards the elevator, her dirty heels clicking loudly on the floor and her whip curled around her forearm, slick with blood. "And we did, didn't we Jace?"

“Yeah, Alec,” Jace agreed. “I can protect your sister just fine.”

“I don’t need protecting!” Izzy shouted over her shoulder, but Alec could barely hear her over the blood rushing to his ears.

Jace and Izzy could defeat demons on their own. Jace could protect Izzy _just fine_. 

Then where did Alec fit in?

 

“Have you seen Max anywhere?” Alec asked Hodge, who was sitting at the large desk in the Institute’s library, writing a letter. “He wanted me to show him something.”

Hodge pulled off his glasses, set down his pen and looked at Alec. “Think I saw him go somewhere with Jace,” he said tiredly. 

“Oh. Okay…thank you,” Alec answered, confused. “And…maybe you should have a walk around? Stretching your legs should be helpful.”

“Yeah, it would…” mumbled Hodge. As Alec tiptoed backwards out of the library, he noticed Hodge’s longing gaze at the world beyond the window.

Alec made a beeline for the training room, where he had a growing, uneasy feeling that he would find Max. As he threw the door open, he was greeted with the sound of a knife cutting through the air followed by hearty applause. Max’s applause.

For Jace.

Jace was laughing, and had his fingers in Max’s hair. “It’s not that hard, really,” he was saying. “In a few years when you’re training too, you’ll see that.”

Max looked up at Jace with pure admiration. “Oh, I could never be as good a Shadowhunter as you, Jace!” he exclaimed. This earned only another chuckle and hair ruffle from Jace, before Alec cleared his throat.

“Um, what’s going on here?” he asked as Jace and Max turned to face him, not having noticed somebody else in the room yet.

“Max just wanted a demonstration of how to throw a knife,” Jace said, walking over to Alec. “Don’t worry; I wasn’t letting him use them or anything.”

“That’s…not it,” Alec stuttered. “He asked _me_ to show him how to throw knives.”

“Yeah, he said he couldn’t find you,” Jace told him.

“I was in my room.”

“Oh…well he just came across me first, I guess,” Jace said. “Anyway, are we still on for patrol tonight?”

“Of course,” Alec said, leaving everything he wanted to burst out with unsaid. Alec was better at throwing knives than Jace. Max knew this. Everyone knew this, because long-range weaponry was the _only_ area where Alec came out on top, despite being the eldest. So why had Max chosen to ask Jace?

It was probably because he had come across Jace first, just like Jace had said. Alec was reading too deeply into the actions of a child.

Bringing him back to the real world, Jace clapped Alec on the shoulder as he left. Alec remained in the training room, alone. Max had already trailed after Jace like a lost puppy. 

 

Jace was the golden boy. Sure, he didn’t mean to be. He was born naturally talented, with amazing looks, charm, and Shadowhunter ability. Somewhere in the depths of his mind, Alec knew that. 

It didn’t stop the way he felt.

It didn’t stop the feeling of betrayal every time Jace walked into a room and his little brother’s eyes lit up. Or Izzy’s eyes. Or his parent’s eyes.

Or Alec’s eyes.

Jace was the golden boy, and Alec was unimportant. 

That was just how things were.

**Author's Note:**

> hmu @whatabunchofbozos on tumblr


End file.
